Operating mechanism for elevator-doors.



NO. 738,176. Y I PATEN'TED SEPT. 8, ,1903.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATOR DOORS.

APPLICATION rum) 0017. 1901.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1;

m: NORRIS vzYzRs co. worcxumo, msumcmu, o c

No. 738,176. PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1903.

F. K. PASSETT. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATOR DOORS.

APPLIUATION FILED OUT. 7. 1901.

N0 1.40pm.. N 3 SHEETS-SHEET z.

vll igw PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1903.

P. K. PASSBTT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7. 1901.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATORDOORS.

N0 MODEL.

THE mama PETERS co wnoroumo. \usuwuww. mic

Mwovay %M -UNTTED STATES I Patented September 8, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS K. FASSETT, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO OTIS ELE- VATORCOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEFV JERSEY.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATOR-DOORS.

LJPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 738,176,'datedSeptember 8, 1903.

Application filed October 7, 1901. Serial No. 77,840, (No model.

To (all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS K. FAssETT, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, hayeinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Operating Mechanism forElevator-Doors, of which the following is a description, reference beinghad to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of operating devices forelevator-doors in which the doors are opened and closed by apower-driven mechanism which is engaged with and disengaged from thedoors for that purpose at will by means controlled by the operator inthe elevator-car. In Letters Patent of the United States No. (M9362,granted to me on May 15, 1900, I illustrated and describedelevatordoor-operating devices of this general char acter in which thedoors were operated by cone-wheels carried by vertically-disposedpower-driven shafts constantly revolving in the same direction andadapted to be engaged with and disengaged from friction-rails upon theelevator-doors by means controlled by the operator in the elevator-car.

It is the object of my present invention to dispense with thevertically-disposed powerdriven shafts and cone-wheels of my formermechanism and to open and close the elevator-doors by means of a novelarrangement of power-driven wheels turning on horizontal axes andadapted to be engaged with and disengaged from friction-rails upon theelevator-doors. Its novelty will be hereinafter set forth, andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical section ofpart of an elevator-car and the inclosing casing of the elevator-shaftin which the car travels. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the part shown inFig. 1, viewed from a position within the elevatorcar and looking towardthe door in front of the car; Fig. 3, a front elevation of part of theelevator-car; Fig. 4, a detailed elevation of a pair of thefriction-wheels for opening and closing the elevator-door at one of thelandings and parts codperating with said wheels; Fig. 5, a top planview, partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a middlevertical section of some of the parts shown in Figs. 4 and 5; Fig. 7, across-section of the friction-rail of Figs. 4. and 5; Fig. 8, adiagrammatic view illustrating means for driving the pairs offriction-wheels at a plurality of doors in the casing of anelevatorshaft on different floors of a building; Fig. 9, a perspectivedetail of a pair of the friction-wheels and the belt for driving them,and Fig. 10 an alternative arrangement for driving said Wheels.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts inthe several views.

As shown in Fig. 2, each door A has secured to and projecting upwardfrom the hangers at its upper corners the supportingarms B B, whichcarry a horizontal frictionrail O, secured to the upper ends of saidarms. Secured in fixed position to a suitable part of theelevator-inclosure above and adjacent one of the upper corners of thedoor is a baseplate D, Figs. 4, 5, and 6, provided at its 0pposite sideswith upwardly-projecting ears E, in which is supported a transverse pinF, upon which is mounted a rocking frame or cradle G, having secured inits opposite ends, parallel with its fulcrum-pin F, a pair of stubshafts or spindles H, having mounted side by side upon their projectingouter ends a pair of friction-wheels I 1. These wheels of each pair(there being one pair of wheels at each door) are driven in oppositedirections by any suitable means, as hereinafter described, andcooperate with the friction-rail O of the elevator-door A to shift thelatter in opposite directions. The rocking frame G is provided at itsmiddle with a recess to receive the lever J, which is fulcrumed at itslower end upon the pin F and at its upper end is bent inwardly towardthe elevator-shaft, as

a vertically-projecting ear N, formed upon the frame G for the purpose.A coiled spring 0, seated in a bore or housing extending upward into theframe G from its bottom at the right of its fulcrum-pin F, Fig. 6,yieldingly holds the parts in the normal position there shown, with thestop-screw Pat the left-hand end of the frame in contact with thebaseplate D, the opposite end of the frame being provided with similarstop-screw P to limit the movement of the frame in the oppositedirection. The spring 0 is a Weaker spring than the spring L, so thatwhen the upper end of the lever J is swung to the right the frame Gwill.be rocked against the resistance of the spring 0 without materiallycompressing the spring L, the latter serving as a yielding cushionbetween the lever and frame for the purpose hereinafter explained.

By reference to Figs. 4 and 5 it will be understood from the foregoingdescription that when the lever J is swung to the right and the frame Grocked in that direction until the wheel 1 contacts with the under sideof the friction-rail O of the door the revolution of said wheel in thedirection of the arrow will shift said rail and door to the right andthat when the lever J is then swung back to the left and the frame Grocked to disengage the wheel 1 from the rail 0 and engage the wheel Itherewith the revolution of the latter wheel in the direction of thearrow will shift the rail and door back to the left. For the purpose ofregulating the speed of the opening and closing movements of the doorand causing it to move slowly at the beginning and ending of itsmovement in each direction and more rapidly during the intermediateportion of its movement I provide each of the wheels I and l with twofrictionsurfaces (1 hof different diameters. The friction-surfaces a oflarger diameter cooperate directly with the under sides of the body ofthe friction-rail C, while the latter is provided at its opposite endswith depending side extensions O, which cooperate with thefrictionsurfaces b of smaller diameter on the respective Wheels. Theunder side of the body of the rail 0 is slightly cut away opposite thedepending side extension O, as shown in Fig. 2 and also indicated by thedotted lines in Fig. 4, so that when the smaller diameter of eitherfriction-wheel is engaged with the under surface of the depending sideextension 0 its larger diameter will not engage the under surface of thebody of the rail. Under this construction and arrangement when the leverJ is swung to the right in Fig. 4 and the frame G rocked to throw theleft-hand wheel I upthe rail and door have traveled to the right untilthe extension 0 clears the friction-surface b of the wheel I, the largerdiameter a of said wheel will engage the under side of the body of therail 0 and carry the door on toward the right with a more rapidmovement. As the rail and door approach their limit of movement towardthe right the cut-away portion of the under side of the rail 0 at itslefthand end will come opposite the wheel and the depending sideextension 0 of the rail will come in contact with the smallerfrictionsurface 5 of the wheel and carry the door on to the right at areduced speed, and it will come to rest, when the end of the railentirely clears the wheel without shock or jar. Upon swinging the upperend of the lever J back to the left and permitting the spring 0 toreturn the frame G to the position shown in Figs. 4 and 6 the smallerfriction-surface b of the right-hand wheel I will be engaged with theside extension 0 at the left-hand end of the rail 0 and start the railand door back toward the left with a slow movement, and as soon'as suchside extension clears the wheel the larger diameter a of the wheel willcontact with the under surface of the body of the rail and move the dooron more rapidly toward the left, and when it approaches the end of itsmovement the side extension 0 at the right-hand endof the rail will comeinto contact with the smaller diameter 1) of the wheel and carry thedoor onward at a reduced speed until the end of the extension 0 clearsthe friction-surface b and the door comes to rest with the parts in theposition shown in Fig. 4.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that during themovements of the door in both directions the friction-wheel is held upin contact with the surface of the friction-rail with a yieldingpressure due to the action of the spring L in the movement of the doorin one direction and to the action of the spring 0 during its movementin the opposite direction, so that any vertical movements of the doordue to irregular surface of the track-rail upon which itssupporttug-rollers travel or other cause will be compensated for and auniform and uninterrupted contact of the friction -wheels with thefriction-rail, and consequent uniform and regular movements of the doorby said wheels be produced.

The shoe or deflector K, which cooperates with the upper end of thelever J to rock the frame G is hung by links Q to a suitable support Rupon the top of the elevator-car, Fig. 3, and provided with alaterally-projecting lug or arm S, to which is pivoted the upper end ofa rod T, whose lower end passes through the front end of a lever U, Fig.1, pivoted at its rear end to the under side of the elevatoucar andresting at its forward end upon a spring V, wound around the lower endof the rod T and confined thereon by nuts V. A foot-piece X extendsdownward through the floor of the car and is pivoted at its lower end tothe lever U, by means of which the lever may be depressed by the foot ofthe operator, and the shoe K thereby thrown outward from its support R(to the right in Fig. 3) into contact with the upper end of the lever J,Fig. 1, and thereby throw the upper end of said lever to the right inFig.4 and rock the frame G upon its fulcrum-pin F and throw theleft-hand friction-wheel I into contact with the friction-rail,with theresult above described,andwhen the pressure upon thefoot piece X isrelieved a spring Y, connected to the shoe K, will restore the latter toits normal position, withdrawing it from contact with the lever J andpermit the spring 0 to rock the frame G back to normal position andcarry the right-hand friction-wheel Iinto contact with the friction-railand return the door. In order to open the door of the elevator-casing atany given floor, therefore, the operator will depress the foot-piece Xas the car approaches or reaches such floor, and the shoe K will beprojected into contact with the lever J and the latter caused to rockthe frame G and open the door, and when the operator removes his footfrom the foot-piece X (or when the car passes from the floor withoutsuch removal) the shoe K will be withdrawn from contact with the lever Jand the frame G will be rocked back to normal position and the door beclosed. To enable the door to be held in open position while the carremains at any given floor without the necessity of the operatormaintaining pressure upon the foot-piece X, the latter is provided witha shoulder or catch 0, which may be readily engaged with the plate inthe floor of the car through which the piece X passes, to maintain thelatter and the lever U in depressed position as long as desired.

The rocking frame G is provided at one end with a projecting arm G,carrying a pivoted gravity-latch c, which cooperates with a lug 01 uponthe rail C to lock the door in closed position. 'When the frame Gisrocked by the lever J to open the door, the latch c is lifted out of thepath of the lug d, and when the door is returned to closed position thelug rides under and lifts the latch and the latter drops down behind itand locks the door. A supplemental lug d is provided at the left of thelug d, Fig. 4, for cooperation with the latch c in event the latterfails at any closing of the door to drop behind the lug d.

As before stated, the friction-wheels for opening and closing the doorsmay be driven in any suitable manner and by any suitable means. In thepresent instance I have shown them in the main views driven by endlessbelts Z, passing over the hubs of the wheels and provided withperforations to cooperate with radial pins projecting from said hubs,Figs. 2, 5, and 9. These endless belts may be arranged, as shown in Fig.8, where it will be seen they are driven at each floor of the buildingby a driving-pulley fast upon a vertical shaft A and at their endsopposite such shaft pass over adjustable pulleys B, by which theirtension may be regulated. Under this arrangement a single shaft A,extending vertically through the building, will thus suffice to driveall the friction-wheels for all the elevator-doors in the building. Theshaft itself may be driven by any suitable power, as by a motor in thebasement of the building, as indicated'in Fig. 8;

In Fig. 10 I have shown the two frictionwheels of each pair gearedtogether and driven by a worm D upon a vertical shaft E; but I prefer toemploy the belt-drives illustrated in the other views, since it obviatesthe necessity for employing a separate shaft E for each vertical row ofelevator-doors in the building. In the case of elevator-shaftscontaining only a single car, however, and consequently having only asingle Vertical row of doors, the arrangement shown in Fig. 10 may beadvantageously employed.

It will be understood that where independent means, such as gravity orsprings, is employed for closing the door some of the advantages of myinvention may be utilized in the employment of a single friction-wheelcooperating with the friction rail or surface of the door to open thelatter.

It is desirable that the pulling side of the belts should run toward thedriving-shaft A in all cases and that the slack side of the belts shouldrun toward the idlers. (Shown at the extreme right and left sides ofFig. 8'.) Each of these idlers is provided with a spring, which tends topull the idler in a direction away from the driving-shaft A, and therebytake up the slack in the belts. These springs need not be of greaterstrength than that necessary to hold the slack side of the beltsreasonably tight; but if the direction of the running of the belts wasreversed the springs would have to be of sufficient strength to exert apull greater than the pull necessary on the belts to operate the doors.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim- 1. Inelevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination with a movable frameand its friction-rail, of friction-wheels mounted upon horizontal axesin said frame and means for causing said wheels to alternately engagewith the friction rail or surface of the door, substantially asdescribed.

2. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a pair of friction-wheels mounted upon horizontal axes and rotatingin opposite directions, and means for engaging said wheels alternatelywith the friction rail or surface of the door, to shift the latter inopposite directions, substantially as described.

3. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a friction-wheel mounted upon a horizontal axis and provided with twofrictionsurfaces of different diameters, and means for engaging thefriction-rail first with the smaller friction-surface of said wheel, andthen with the larger surface thereof, and finally with the smallersurface again, substantially as described.

4. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a pair of friction-wheels mounted on horizontal axes and rotating inopposite directions and each provided with two frictionsurfaces ofdifferent diameters, and means for engaging said wheels alternately withthe friction rail or surface of the door, the smaller friction-surfaceof the wheel being first engaged, and then the larger, and then thesmaller again; substantially as described.

5. In elevatondoor-operating mechanism, the combination with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a shiftable friction-wheel, means for engaging said wheel with thefriction rail or surface of the door with a yielding pressure andadjustable means for limiting the shifting movement of such wheel,substan tially as described.

6. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a shiftable friction-wheel rotating upon a horizontal axis, means forengaging said Wheel with the friction rail or surface of the door with ayielding pressure, and adjustable means for limiting the shiftingmovement of such wheel, substantially as described.

7. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a pair of friction-Wheels rotating in opposite directions, and meansfor engaging said wheels alternately with the friction rail or surfaceof the door with a yielding pressure; substantially as described.

8. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,ofa pair of friction-wheels mounted upon horizontal axes and rotating inopposite directions, and means for engaging said wheels alternately withthe friction rail or surface of the door with a yielding pressure;substantially as described.

9. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a rocking frame or cradle, a pair of friction-wheels mounted on saidrocking frame or cradle to engage said wheels alternately with thefriction rail or surface of the door; substantially as described.

10. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a rocking frame or cradle, a pair of friction-wheels mounted on saidrocking frame or cradle at opposite sides of its pivot, a springpressing said rocking frame in one direction and yieldingly holdingit innormal position, a lever for rocking said frame in the oppositedirection, and a spring interposed between said lever and frame, wherebythe rocking movements of said frame in opposite directions serve toengage the frictionwheels with the friction rail or surface of the dooralternately with a yielding pressure;

substantially as described.

11. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and the friction-rail 0 carried thereby andprovided with the depending side extension 0 at its opposite'ends, ofthe pair of friction-wheels I I provided with the frictionsurfaces atbof different diameters, and means for engaging said wheels alternatelywith the friction-rail, the smaller friction-surface b being firstbrought into engagement with the side extension 0 at one end of saidrail, and the larger surface a of the wheel then engaged with the bodyof the rail 0, and the smaller friction-surface b then engaged with theextension O' at the opposite end of the rail; substantially asdescribed.

12. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and the friction-rail 0 carried thereby andprovided with the depending side extensions O at its opposite ends, ofthe rocking frame or cradle G fulcrumed at its middle upon a suitablesupport and carrying the projecting spindles H at opposite sides of saidsupport, the friction-wheelsI I mounted upon the spindles H and eachprovided with the friction-s11 rfaces (6 Z) of different diameterscooperating respectively with the friction-rail C and its dependingside extensions 0', the spring 0 pressing the rocking frame G in onedirection, the lever J for moving it in the opposite direction, and thespring L interposed between the lever and said frame; substantially asdescribed.

13. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and a friction rail or surface carried thereby,of a base-plate D secured to a fixed part of the elevator inclosure andprovided with the ears E, the pin F supported in said ears, the rockingframe or cradle G fnlcrumed on said pin, the screws P P at the oppositeends of said frame for limiting its rocking movements, the spindles Hsupported in said frame upon opposite sides of the fulcrum-pin F, thefriction-Wheels I I mounted upon said spindles, the spring 0 pressingthe frame G in one direction, the lever J for rocking it in the oppositedirection, and the spring L interposed between said lever and frame;substantially as described. Y

14. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thelaterally-movable door and the friction-rail 0 carried thereby reams andprovided with the locking-lug d, of the rocking frame or cradle Gcarrying the friction-wheels cooperating with said rail, means forrocking said frame to engage said wheels with the rail alternately, andthe latch 0 carried by said rocking frame and cooperating with the lug(Z upon the rail 0 to lock the door in closed position, substantially asdescribed.

15. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with the'doorand its friction-rail, of a pair of friction-wheels located side byside, and cooperating with such rail, and an endless belt passing aroundone side of one wheel and the opposite side of the other wheel andserving to drive said wheels in opposite directions; substantially asdescribed.

16. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with the doorand its friction-rail, of a friction-wheel provided with radialprojections, and an endless perforated belt cooperating with said wheeland its projections to drive the wheel, said wheel cooperating with therail to move the door; substantially as described.

17. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with the doorand its friction-rail, of a pair of friction-wheeis located side by sideand each provided with radial projections, and an endless perforatedbelt passing around one side of one wheel and the opposite side of theother wheel and cooperating therewith and with said projections, todrive the wheel in opposite directions, said wheels cooperating with therail to move the door; substantially as described.

18. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with aplurality of elevatordoors located upon the same floor, of a pair offriction-wheels for each door, a drivingpulley located at one side ofthe plurality of doors, and an endless belt passing around saiddriving-pulley and over the opposite sides of the friction-wheels ofeach pair, to drive the wheels of each pair in opposite directions,substantially as described.

19. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with aplurality of elevatordoors located upon the same floor, of a pair offriction-wheels for each door, a drivingpulley located at one side ofthe plurality of doors, an adjustable idler-pulley located at theopposite side of said doors, and an endless belt passing around saidpulleys and also,

intermediate said pulleys, over the opposite sides of thefriction-wheels of each pair, to drive the latter in oppositedirections; substantially as described.

20. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with a doorand its frictionrail, of a friction-wheel, means for shifting said wheelinto engagement with the rail and adjustable means for limiting themovement of such wheel; substantially as described.

21. In elevator-dooroperating mechanism, the combination, with a doorand its frictionrail, of a pivoted frame, a friction-wheel arranged torotate in such frame, means for shifting said frame to cause engagementbetween such wheel and the rail, and adjustable means for limiting themovement of such frame; substantially as described.

22. In elevator-dcor-operating mechanism, the combination, with a doorand its frictionrail, of a pivoted frame, a friction-wheel journaled insuch frame and adapted to engage the rail when the frame is shifted orrocked, and an adjustable stop consisting of a setscrew cooperating withsaid frame; substantially as-described.

23. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with'a doorand its frictionrail, of a vertically-movable pivoted frame, afriction-wheel mounted upon a horizontal axis in said frame, andadjustable means for limiting the movement of the frame; substantiallyas described.

24. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thedoor, of a single friction-rail thereon, a pair of friction-wheelsrotating in opposite directions, means. for causingengagement betweenthe wheels alternately and the rail; substantially as described.

25. In elevatordoor-operating mechanism, the combination with the doorof a single friction-rail thereon, a pair of friction-wheels rotating inopposite directions, and having friction-surfaces at differentdistancesfrom the center, means for causing engagement between the wheelsalternately and the rail;

substantially as described.

26. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with a doorand its frictionrail having a cut-away portion at one end, of a pair offriction-wheels adapted to. rotate in opposite directions and tocooperate with said rail and means for normally yieldingly holding oneWheel away from cooperative relation with the rail, the other wheelbeing normally positioned adjacent to the said cut-away portion of therail; substantially as described.

27. The combination with a support, a sliding door and a friction-railon said door, of a rotatable Wheel arranged and operating to move saiddoor in one direction by engagement with said rail and a secondrotatable wheel arranged and operating to move said door in the oppositedirection by engagement with said rail and means for effecting theengagement of the second wheel with the rail and simultaneouslypreventing engagement of the first wheel therewith, substantially asdescribed.

28. In elevator-door-operating mechanism, the combination, with thedoor, of a frictionrail thereon, a pair of friction-wheels rotatable inhorizontal axes in opposite directions for respectively opening andclosing the door, and means for causing engagement between the wheelsalternately and the rail, said wheels and the rail having surfaces ofengagement of varying distances from the axes of rotation during themovements of the door; substantially as described.

29. In elevator-door-operating mechanism 1 the wheels at differentdistances from their 10 the combination of the door, a pair of fric- Iaxes for varying the speed of the door in tion-wheels rotatable onhorizontal axes and opening and closing; substantially as dein oppositedirections for respectively openscribed. 5 in and closing the door afriction-rail oon- T ne cted to the door and means for causing en- FRAB018 FASSETT' gagement between the wheels alternately and WVitnesses: therail, said rail having different friction- S. E. HIBBEN,

surfaces contacting with friction-surfaces on JOHN H. BERKSTRESSER.

